The French Open crowds must be educated in order to avoid a repeat of the boos directed at Swiss Stan Wawrinka when he played against home players, the tournament director said on Sunday.

Gilbert Ysern said it was unfair for the crowd to whistle players.

“You (reporters) must not hesitate to say it and to write it, to say that the champions do not deserve this and that it is not acceptable on a sports ground,” Ysern told a news conference ahead of the men’s singles final between Wawrinka and world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia.

“We have to carry this message together. This kind of behaviour should not happen because it is very embarrassing.”

Wawrinka was booed by the court Suzanne Lenglen fans before his fourth-round match against Frenchman Gilles Simon and after his semi-final win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

He was probably paying for comment made after the Davis Cup final when he said the French, who lost 3-1 on home clay in Lille, should have talked less.

“We had always been very proud to say our fans were connoisseurs. That they were great, that they could get carried away but always respectful of the players,” Ysern added.

“This year in particular, things got out of hand two or three times and we’re not proud of that, it’s annoying.”